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6 Social Security Disability Facts No One Told You

The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust will be fully funded through 2022, but the need for SSDI is still growing, and more people with disabilities need help now more than ever. To do this, the government is using special programs to make work safer and to bring disabled workers back to the workforce. But can lawmakers tackle SSDI’s funding problems before time runs out, or are critics blowing the program’s problems out of proportion?

6 Social Security Disability Facts No One Told You

SSDI critics complain that beneficiaries are paid too generously, but did you know that on average claimants receive about $1,165 a month. That’s just about $14,000 to live on every year!

Over half of women—and over one-third of men—receive less than $1,000 in monthly disabilities benefits. That means a large portion of SSDI beneficiaries receive fewer benefits than the national average for benefits.

Even though more people are on SSDI than ever before, the overall rate of people joining the program has been between 4.7 and 6.4 per 1,000 people since 1991.

The percentage of people on SSDI has tripled since 1970, but only 5.5 percent of Americans were on SSDI in 2013.

Musculoskeletal disorders like muscle, nerve, cartilage, tendon, joint, neck and back damage increased by 65 percent between 1996 and 2014. This could be caused by a rise in on-the-job accidents, which could mean employers need to double down on safety measures.

Only 87 out of 1000 SSDI beneficiaries leave the program every year, but the government is trying to help get even more people with disabilities back into the workforce with programs like “Ticket to Work.”

Knowing the facts can help us understand where the real problems for Social Security Disability Insurance lie: waitlists, tough restrictions, and work environments that are injuring productive members of society. To learn more about SSDI and how it helps the people of this country, keep following our blog, Facebook and Twitter.